1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to boat trailers and more particularly to an improved boat trailer which subsequently serves as the boat dock after trailing the boat to a given body of water.
Attempts have been made to construct a boat trailer in such a fashion that subsequent to trailing the boat by automobile or other vehicle to a body of water where the boat is to be used, the boat trailer additionally functions as a floating dock by mooring the modified trailer at the shoreline with the front or rear projecting outwardly from the bank and floating on the surface of the water.
Representative U.S. patents showing combination structures are U.S. Pat. No. 3,124,259 issued to Goettl, Mar. 10, 1964, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,126,855, issued to Freeburg, Mar. 31, 1964. Both of these patents illustrate dock-trailer units in which the boat moves into position overlying the dock-trailer superstructure by entering a predefined horizontal slot to the center of the flotation means whereupon, subsequently when the dock-trailer is retrieved from the water by operation of the automotive vehicle, both the dock-trailer and the boat emerge from the water with the boat captured within the slot which extends below the horizontal decking of the combination unit. Such structures are inherently complex and expensive and even though, in the Freeburg unit, hinged panels may be folded downwardly subsequent to removal of the boat to provide an uninterrupted deck, such arrangement due to its cost have prevented such dock-trailer units from enjoying commercial success.
Further, in the structure of Goettl subsequent to unloading of the boat from the dock-trailer unit the superstructure of the trailer impedes the use of the unit as a dock. Further, since the wheels of the unit are at least partially immersed in the body of water when the unit is employed as a dock and since the unit may rest on the surface of the water for an extensive period of time, there can be extensive water damage to the wheel assembly particularly the wheel bearings.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved, simplified and aesthetic combined boat trailer and boat dock which permits the boat to be satisfactorily trailed on the unit by an automotive vehicle to the site for use of the boat, permits the boat to be readily removed from the deck of the unit and allows elements such as bunks, winches, rollers and the like to be detached from the chassis so as to provide a free and unimpeded upper deck surface and which permits the ready addition of side rails or the like to one or both longitudinal sides of the unit rectangular chassis frame.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved combination boat trailer and boat dock having flotation means which may be selectively flooded to permit the rear end of the trailer to be submerged and the unit inclined to facilitate loading of a boat onto the upper surface of the unit decking and to permit, after retrieving of the unit from the water, gravity draining of those flooded flotation means.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved combination boat trailer and boat dock which employs vertically adjustable anchor bars at respective corners of the chassis frame for locking and anchoring of the unit to the sea bottom, adjacent the shoreline, and for forceably lifting the rear of the combination dock-trailer above the surface of the water to fix the dock and improve the unit stability when employed as a dock subsequent to launching of the boat.
From the foregoing other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and in particular with reference to the accompanying drawings.